Bethlehem City Council Final 2026 Budget Meeting – December 4, 2025

This was the final budget hearing for the proposed 2026 budget. The meeting featured extensive public comment, discussion of six council-proposed amendments to add four firefighters, and several alternative motions. After debate, all amendments were defeated. The meeting adjourned after more than three hours.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Scott Slingerland (CAT – Coalition for Appropriate Transportation) spoke in support of the Community Recovery Fund (CRF) and also expressed support for hiring additional firefighters. He reported that in 2024, CAT reached 1,663 youth participants at 42 bicycle education events.
• Becca Eichelberger (Touchstone Theater) opposed cuts to the CRF, noting that Festival Unbound hosted 26 events with over 5,000 participants over two years. She urged council not to fund firefighters at the expense of community services.
• George Sopinka (738 Maple Street) supported the amendment for four additional firefighters, citing frequent emergency responses in his neighborhood.
• Bob Rapp Jr. (BES – Bethlehem Emergency Shelter) spoke in support of the CRF for unhoused services. He noted that shelter averages rose from 65 per night, with a 128% increase from 2020 to 2025, and that 48% of last year’s shelter guests were first-time homeless. He opposed pitting departments against each other.
• Mike O’Hare favored a more moderate approach using unused salaries from eight open firefighter positions for recruitment and retention. He criticized an email from DCED Director Collins sent to community groups, saying it lacked context and was inappropriate.
• John Roof (15-year BFD veteran) stressed the need for firefighters, noting 25-26 overtime incidents since the previous Wednesday. He urged council to leave the city better than they found it.
• Lou Jimenez (IAFF Local 735 President) supported four firefighters, citing a doubling of calls to 5,000 per year while staffing declined. He suggested using the city’s cash balance and criticized treating firefighters as numbers.
• Robert M. Bowden (IAFF Local 735 VP) detailed that the staffing shortage was “engineered” and that overtime budgets are used as a shell game. He warned of potential lawsuits like the $31.5 million wrongful death case in Sterling, Illinois.
• Shelby Carr (Menokasy Farm Project) opposed cuts to the CRF, arguing that using funds set aside for nonprofits is troubling and that the Safer Grant is not a sure thing.
• Additional speakers included a labor leader who warned of liability if a firefighter is killed, a citizen (Sean Telerico) who stressed the importance of public safety, and Doug Royston (Ice House) who supported the CRF and questioned why firefighters and arts were pitted against each other. Carol Anders asked that all firefighters come home safe.

Discussion Items

Council Amendments (Scenarios for Four Firefighters) Councilwoman Grace Cramsey Smith introduced six amendments to hire four firefighters either for the full year (starting January 2026) or for six months (starting July 2026). Funding sources included eliminating two proposed DCED positions, reducing fire overtime, and cutting the Community Recovery Fund. A motion to group all six for discussion passed 7-0. After debate, amendments 1, 3, and 5 (full-year scenarios) were withdrawn because cadets cannot attend the January academy. The remaining amendments (2, 4, and 6) were considered as a group.

Legal and practical objections were raised:

• Solicitor Stewart stated that building permit fees cannot be used for general fund purposes (or for firefighter salaries) per state statute and case law.
• Business Administrator Evans explained that the proposed cuts to DCED overtime and positions are tied to fee increases and would require corresponding fee reductions.
• Chief Griffin confirmed that new firefighters cannot be hired in time for the January academy; the earliest would be July 2026. He also noted that the Safer Grant (if applied for) could not retroactively fund positions hired before the grant cycle.
• Councilwoman Quyetek and others argued that using one-time funds (CRF or cash balance) for ongoing expenses is unsound fiscal practice.

After extensive discussion, the group of amendments (2, 4, 6) failed: 2 for (Callahan, Cramsey Smith) and 5 against (Quyetek, Laird, Wilhelm, Cologne; Leon? [Not called in roll but presumed voting against] – actual roll: Callahan aye, Cramsey Smith aye, Quyetek nay, Laird nay, Wilhelm nay, Cologne nay).

Councilman Callahan’s Subsequent Motions Councilman Callahan then offered three more amendments:

1. Amendment A: Transfer $165,500 from fire overtime and $165,500 from cash balance to fund four firefighters for six months. This failed 2-5 (Callahan aye, Cramsey Smith aye; Quyetek, Laird, Wilhelm, Cologne nay; Leon not voting? Actually roll: same pattern – failed).
2. Amendment B: Transfer $165,976 from the Community Recovery Fund and $165,500 from fire overtime. Failed 2-5.
3. Amendment C: Raise real estate taxes by $331,479 (to fund four firefighters for six months). After debate about timing and advertising deadlines, this motion also failed 3-4 (Callahan aye, Cramsey Smith aye, Laird aye; Quyetek nay, Leon nay, Wilhelm nay, Cologne nay).

Key Outcomes

• All council-proposed amendments to hire four firefighters were defeated.
• No alternative funding sources (cash balance, tax increase, CRF cuts) secured the five votes needed to increase spending.
• The budget will proceed to final reading on December 16, 2025 at 7 p.m., without the proposed additions.
• Councilwoman Cramsey Smith and several others expressed frustration with the compressed timeline and the perceived lack of a plan from the administration.
• The administration’s planned comprehensive study of fire and EMS staffing is expected to proceed, with a target completion before the 2027 budget season.